Past exam of the chemistry A course of the University of Cambridge 2023 Paper 2 A8 b Solution 2026-10-20
At chemical equilibrium, . Using the number-concentration form givesHere is the reaction energy between the chosen molecular reference states. Rearranging,Define the dimensionless concentration equilibrium constant byThusThe standard concentration has the same units as . It converts concentration ratios to ideal thermodynamic activities; changing it changes the numerical dimensionless for this dissociation, which creates an extra particle. The unnormalized quotient instead has concentration units.[ref]
IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology (Gold Book) by International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry. entries equilibrium constant and standard equilibrium constant: distinguish concentration quotients from the thermodynamic dimensionless standard constant